Footprints In The Sand
by Angry Pencil Wielder
Summary: "Feathers..." breathed Grant. The raptor has feathers..." "We have a new attraction Mr. Grady." "Owen, and what does that have to do with me?" "We want you to raise them." AU full summary inside) Hiatus
1. Prologue

When the first egg hatched, the creature that came out tore apart everything science thought they new about dinosaurs. 20 years later, it was common knowledge raptors had feathers and dinosaurs where warm blooded.

But 10 years of wonder has slowly dwindled, and the park needs something new. Enter the Indominus Rex. And the only one to raise them, none other than the talented Owen Grady. The Raptor Squad is getting two new members.

Things only get more complicated after Owen takes in his mute niece and Claire's nephews come to visit.

As the Rexs' intelligence continues to grow, the morality of what the geneticists have done comes into question. Only time will tell if thier mistakes will cost lives.

Owen/Claire, Lowery/Oc, bit of Gray/Oc and the sibling lives. Super smart Rex. Some spoilers.

 **A.N.** I made a JP fic! Yay! So, yeah, I'm not dead, just lost the muse for, like, all my stories. :( I absolutly loved Jurassic World, and really wished the raptors and I Rex hadn't died. So I wrote this to make myself feel better. Hehe. I'm gonna fill in the rest of the character list later, including some of the animals. I want to just go ahead and post this thing now, cuz I'm an impatient little shit. XD

 **EDIT:** Took out the character thingy, cuz it annoyed both me and a reviewer. Hopefully I'll put up another chapter soon. Sorry it's so short, but it is a prologue. Aaaaaand, I talked a lot.

* * *

Prologue

"It's through the painstaking study of the interior chamber in multiple specimens that we can determine this exciting correlation between the larynx and the upper plate. That lets us theorize -theorize, mind you - that the raptor might have been capable of bird-like vocalizations. Which as you can imagine, would be a tremendous breakthrough."

Dr Allan Grant concluded. The symposium leader stepped forward, indicating the end of Dr Grant's lecture. "Thank you very much Dr. Grant. Now does anyone have a question?"  
Nearly every hand went up. Allan sighed, unsurprised. "Does anyone have a question that doesn't relate to Jurassic Park?"

All but one hand went down. Allen eyed the remaining questioner. He was a well built man of his early thirties with dirty blond hair and stubble, a knowing grin twitching at the edge of his lips. He wore a casual outfit of bluejeans and a t-shirt.

Allen felt a small sense of deja vu looking at the young man. He had the same atmosphere Robert Muldoon once had, before his untimely death. The air of a man built for nature.

Allan gestured towards the man. "Yes?"

The man lowered his hand. "Yeah, uh, how crazy would a guy have to be to consider raising a pack of raptors?"

Allan gaped at the man, unsure of how to respond. The man just smirked. "Meet me in the lobby later, sound good doc?"

"Name's Owen Grady." Was the first thing the man said. His hand shot out in greeting, and Allan numbly took it. "Allan Grant, though you probably already know that."

Owen smirked and nodded.

"Now, what the hell did you mean about 'raising a pack of raptors'?" Allan demanded.

"Exactly what I said. InGen's reopening the park." Owen said simply.

Allan gaped at the man. "What?" He gasped.

Owen's expression toned down a notch. "I had the same reaction at first. Crazy, right? Opening a theme park filled with dinosaurs. A theme park that's already failed twice?" He shrugged. "But Masrani Global think's they can do it right while InGen failed."

Allan shook his head. "Idiots, all of them. Don't they ever learn?"

"Ya know, that's really why I'm joining." Owen explained. "Can't beat 'em, join 'em, ya know? The more people who understand that something _will_ go wrong, the more likely it won't be as serious."

"What are they having you do? You're not seriously going to raise raptors, are you?"

"Actually I am. That's what they hired me for. They're gonna give me four eggs to raise. They've never hand-raised raptors before. It might actually work."

"Why you?"

Owen shrugged. "I'm an animal trainer. I've worked with dogs, wolves, lions, eagles, even orcas before. I know they're nothing compared to raptors, but I've got more experience than most."

Allan shook his head. "You're nuts. What do you want with me anyway?"

"Advice, mostly. You're the leading expert in raptors, fossil wise. And you've had experience with them from the park. I was hoping you could help me out every once in a while. Video chat or something."

Allan sighed, pinching his nose. "I';m guessing I can't talk you out of this?" He asked, half hopeful.

Owen shook his head, grinning. "Nope, not a chance."

"Fine. Maybe I can help keep you alive."

Owen laughed. "Glad to hear it."


	2. Welcome To Jurassic World

Chapter One: Welcome to Jurassic World

* * *

 _*one month earlier*_

"Welcome to Jurassic World."

Owen glanced at the source of the voice as he stepped out of the large white boat that had taken him to Isla Nublar. A woman in her early thirties stood on the dock, a perfectly straight smile on her lips. She wore khaki shorts and expensive leather hiking boots with a light green cotton blouse. Expensive but still functional.

The woman held out her hand. "Hello Mr Grady, my name is Sarah Lark." She greeted. "I'll be showing you around the park."

"Call me Owen. Mr Grady makes me sound old." Owen replied, flashing her a (seductive) smile.

A slight blush rose on Sarah's tanned cheeks, but other than that remained indifferent to Owen's flirting. Shame.

"This way _Mr Grady_."

Owen followed obediently behind her, amused and annoyed at how she stressed the 'Mr Grady' part. Behind him the crew of the boat started to unload a mass of supplies that would be sent to the park for one use or another.

"You're luggage will be delivered to your apartment at the staff housing facility later this evening." Sarah informed as she led him down the dock and toward the monorail station.

The thick South American air beat down on them, and Owen was glad that he'd opted to wear shorts and a thin light blue t-shirt beneath a sleeveless vest. Anything else would have been far too hot.

The two boarded the otherwise empty monorail. Sarah sat down while Owen remained standing and the vehicle took off.

"Most of the staff is housed in an apartment complex located on the edge of the restricted zone where it connects to a private monorail system. It can only be accessed with staff key cards or fingerprints. Your fingerprints have already been downloaded to the database, so you can enter any and all sectors that are within your jurisdiction. Some areas are off limits to all but those with the highest clearance level." She paused and gave Owen a pointed look. "You and I are not among them."

Owen gave a pouty look which Sarah ignored.

Growing bored, Owen glanced out the clear glass windows as Sarah droned on about all the places the monorail went.

A flash of blue caught Owen's eye. They were traveling over some sort of lake.

"What's that?" Owen asked, a surge of excitment coloring his voice.

Sarah followed Owen;s gaze to the body of water, her expression never shifting from its stoic default.

"That will be the mosasaurus tank."

Owen's head snapped away from the window to stare at Sarah in shock. "You have a mosasaurus?" He gasped.

"Not exactly. It's still in its fetal stage, and won't be park ready for a few years. We went ahead and built the tank so we wouldn't have all the construction with an open park." She pointed to a stadium built along the far side of the lake. "That's where the mosasaurus feeding show will be held."

Owen noticed a large street surrounded by all sorts of buildings situated behind the stadium. At the far end of the street was a large triangular structure.

"Past the mosasaur tank is Main Street. There at the end is the Visitor Center. It also contains the Control Room and the Labs."

Finally the monorail stopped at its station and the two exited. Sarah led Owen through Main Street, pointing things out as they went.

"Along Main Street we have shops, restaurants, and educational centers. All staff get discounted meals and purchases here."

"Any good barbecue places here?" Owen asked, looking around. Sarah gestured at a medium sized building with a rustic sort of look. The sign on top read 'The Brach Shack' with an image of a brachiosaurus.

Owen nodded in approval. "Nice."

They continued on into the Visiter Center, Sarah speaking all the while.

"The park isn't scheduled to open for another year now, but we have almost everything ready. Really we just have to wait until the assets reach an appropriate age."

"Assets?" Asked Owen, bewildered.

Sarah pursed her cherry red lips. "The... animals." She corrected. Ignoring his perturbed look, she continued on. Already Owen was getting a bad feeling about how the people viewed the park's creatures, but he held his tongue. Now was not the time.

Owen climbed the steps to the Visiter Center and was faintly reminded of when he was little and made tee-pees out of blankets. The Center was like how his six-year-old mind had pictured his fabric fortress all those years ago.

Owen was shaken from his thoughts when he and his guide stepped through the automatic doors and into the AC cooled room. It was giant, filled with all sorts of displays and screens. Everything was turned off and black, but already Owen knew, when turned on, the Center would be filled with light and sound. It felt a bit too futuristic for him, but he guessed the kids would love it.

"We have state-of-the-art systems that can project 3D images, as well as interactive touch screen features.

Owen whistled. Not only was the Center a showoff of new technology, but of Masrani Global's wealth.

"This way." Sarah called from farther ahead. Owen walked briskly to keep up with her. The two traveled doen halls and elevators until they finally arrived at the place Owen really wanted to get to.

"And here we have the hatchery."

They stepped into the stark white room. Owen was forced to blink away the bright light. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed unaffected. Owen was starting to think she might be an android or something. Hopefully she wouldn't go rogue and spew vanilla pudding everywhere.*

His eyes finally adjusted, Owen took in the large room. It was filled with complex machinery, all white, and all holding eggs. There were large eggs, small eggs, medium and even a few bigger than Owen's head.

Also in the room was a six foot long tank full of thick liquid. Owen stepped closer tot he tank. Floating in the liquid was something that looked like a cross between a dolphin and a shark. It was about three feet long, gray, and perfectly still. Attached to its belly was a pink cord that in turn connected to the outside of the tank and into even more complex machines.

"I see you found our Mosasaur." Spoke a man's voice behind Owen. He jumped in surprise and turned to meet a man of oriental decent and graying black hair. The man wore a casual suit beneath a long white lab coat.

"Henry Wu." Introduced the man as he stuck out his hand to shake.

Owen excepted the hand and shook it with a strong grip. "Owen Grady." The man smiled, and once again Owen felt the unsettling feeling in his gut. The feeling that told him not to trust this man, that this guy was bad news. The whole room gave him a creepy feeling. It was like some sort of detached science experiment, the animals they made merely the product of some mixed proteins.

"Ah, Grady!" The man exclaimed. "Our newest addition"

"Yeah, that's me." Owen grinned, trying to hide his discomfort being around Wu.

"Well then, let me introduce you to your charges." Well, at least he didn't say assets. "Ms Lark, you're free to leave. I'm going to steal Owen away for an hour or two. You can come back later for the rest of your tour."

Sarah left without so much as a goodbye. Definitely an android.

"This way." Wu called, heading toward another room. Owen followed obediently. "We keep the herbivores together, but the carnivores each get their own room. Hatching in a place with the sounds and smells of both predators and prey can be stressful for the infants."

The room they entered was smaller than the first. At the center was a round machine about four and a half feet tall and three feet wide. Stepping closer, Owen realized it was some sort of overly-complicated incubator (really, a chicken incubator could have worked just fine, only bigger). Resting peacefully inside the incubator were four little miracles.

The creamy white eggs sat there so innocently, so unlike the terrifying hunters they would soon give birth to.

"You can touch them, just wash your hands first." Wu spoke up from by the door. The scientist gestured to some sort of machine built into the wall. It was a lot like the electric hand-driers most public bathrooms now had. Owen stuck his arms into the indicated slot and felt warm liquid wash over his hands before being quickly dried off. He glanced at Wu, who gave him an approving nod.

All of Owen's attention was focused on the four eggs. He gently laid a hand over the largest one, feeling its rough surface beneath his hand. It was so warm, bumpy yet smooth. His left hand reached out to touch the egg sitting to the side of the first.

The egg in his right hand gave a gentle shake. Not enough to indicate it hatching, but enough to let him know the little creature inside was awake and moving.

A smile spread over Owen's face. "Hello girls."

* * *

 **A.N.**

*Owen is referencing the Synthetics from the movie Alien. And the vanilla pudding is the white gunk that comes out of Bishop later in the film. I totally see Owen as a fan of the old sci-fi stuff, like Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Alien. *shrug*

Raptors hatch next chapter, and we get to meet Claire and maybe a few ocs. And Sarah's probably not going to show up again since her purpose of showing Owen around if over.

While I only got two reviews for this fic so far, I got a crap ton of follows and favorites, which is awesome. But really guys, reviews make my day, even if it's just a 'good story' or something.


	3. Dear Mr Verne

Chapter Two: Dear Mr Verne

* * *

Owen leaned back in his chair, his feet resting on the edge of a humming white machine, and a hardback book in his hands.

" _I shudder as I recall these monsters to my remembrance. No human eye has ever beheld them living. They burdened this earth a thousand ages before man appeared, but their fossil remains, found in the argillaceous limestone called by the English the lias, have enabled their colossal structure to be perfectly built up again and anatomically ascertained._ " Read Owen, reciting the translated words written long ago by Jules Verne.

Owen sat in what he'd come to mentally call the 'raptor nursery'. The normally bright lights had been dimmed down to a soft glow and the hum of machinery served as a pleasant lullaby.

" _I saw at the Hamburg museum the skeleton of one of these creatures thirty feet in length. Am I then fated – I, a denizen of earth – to be placed face to face with these representatives of long extinct families? No; surely it cannot be! Yet the deep marks of conical teeth upon the iron pick are certainly those of the crocodile."_

Owen glanced up from his book to look at the four eggs sitting comfortably in their incubator. For most people, it probably seemed silly to talk to an egg, but Owen wasn't most people.

Before moving to the island, Owen had spend weeks watching footage recorded of the raptor pack on Isla Sorna. A few years back, MGC had managed to instal twenty four cameras across the island preserve. Of those, thirteen were still in operation. Owen had watched everything and anything pertaining to the raptors caught in the footage. As well as read every book he could get his hands on, including those written by Allan Grant and Ian Malcolm.

Watching the footage, Owen learned how the raptors interacted, how they hunted and worked as a team. And how they cared for their young.

His mind wandered back to his hours of watching the single pack on the island. It was large, comprised of fourteen adult, four juveniles, and seven hatchlings. The fourteen were split evenly, with seven males and seven females.

It had taken him weeks to realize that they all had a single mate, and that they most likely mated for life. There was an alpha male and female, with all the rest being their children and their mates and thier offspring and so on.

Owen was especially fascinated by the raptor's appearance. Aside from the eldest pair, (who were the former alphas and first generation raptors) they were all covered in a coat of downy feathers. It almost looked like fur. It covered the dinosaurs from head to toe, missing only on the tip of their snout, fingers, and feet. They also had large feathered crests on their head and clusters of feathers on the tips of their tails. Each was brightly colored, ranging from green to red to blue and everything in between. The raptor's bellied were usually a paler version of their main color, and most had intricate patters, usually vertical stripes like a tiger, horizontal like a gazelle or even speckles like a fawn.

The two first generations were featherless with dull leathery skin. They were lab bred and later let free on Sorna. Each generation after changed, became more birdlike. In the twenty years that the original pair had been on Sorna, there were five five generations. There were four years between breeding periods, meaning it took four years for a raptor to fully mature.

Their evolution in just twenty years and five generations was utterly astounding. Also based on how the original pair aged, the science department estimated their max lifespan to be between forty and sixty years.

The raptors territory was included the old communications center and the area around it. The island was pretty much split in half between the raptors and t-rex family.

Owen had watched in fascination as one of the females (he'd dubbed her Ruby) dug a cave into the face of a small cliff. The cliff was about twenty feet tall and made of clay and limestone. She'd dug a good eighteen or so feet into it, then made a nest inside.

He'd also seen how the raptors would talk to their eggs, ceaselessly chatter and hum to them. Both parents would take turns looking over their two or three unborn offspring. Even after the babies hatched, the parents would constantly talk to them.

So Owen decided to do the same. Like how a baby becomes familiar with its mother's voice while still in the womb, by reading to his girls, they would (hopefully) come to know Owen before even hatching.

Even if it didn't, Owen liked spending time with the eggs.

It had been a week since he'd arrived at the park, and most of his time Owen spent in the raptor nursery. The eggs weren't scheduled to hatch for another four weeks, then the babies would have to remain in the hatchery for another three to make sure they were healthy and growing.

After that, the four girls would be allowed to live with Owen in his half constructed bungalow within the restricted zone. They'd fenced in about one hundred acres of land for the raptors to live in, as well as a paddock for when they got too big for the bungalow.  
It had taken a lot of convincing on Owen's side to talk the company in letting him have his own place instead of living in the apartments with the rest of the staff. But in the end he got what he wanted, mostly using the fact he'd be living with the raptors (another thing that took some convincing).

Sighing in contentment, Owen when back to reading his book out loud. Hopefully the girls liked Journey to the Center of the Earth.

* * *

"Jesus christ..." Gasped the new raptor handler. He was staring in awe at the largest creature he had ever seen. Actually, she was the largest creature to walk the earth, an argentinosaurus. The sauropod was over 75 feet long, with legs the size of redwood trees and a neck the length of a school bus _._ Owen only came up to her knee, something truly impressive for a guy who stood six foot two.

Thick thick, crocodile like skin was forest green with patches of brown, mostly along her belly and lower sides.

Her box shaped head reminded Owen of a tiger fish, only without all the dagger shaped teeth.

Gwyneth, as she was called, was a truly impressive sight, with her sheer size and the deep trumpeting call she bellowed out to her sister, Morgan.

"I know, right." Grinned the ginger haired woman beside Owen. Tracy was the head supervisor of the herbivore handlers. She made sure all the grass-eating caretakers did their jobs as well as helped keep the giants happy.

The two argentinosauruses were one of the newest additions to the park. Created only a year ago, the gentle giants were still babies. When fully grown, Gwyneth and Morgan would be over 115 feet long and half as tall.

"Those are my special girls." Tracy bragged. "They're beautiful, and actually pretty smart compared to other sauropods." She turned to look at Owen, who sat in the passenger seat beside her. The two were driving in Tracy's private jeep. She'd been tasked with giving him a more in-depth look at the herbivore plains.

"Along with the argies, our sauropods consist of five brachiosaurus, ten diplodocus, and three malawisaurus." Tracy told him, gesturing to each dinosaur species as they slowly passed the herd of mixed animals.

The brachiosaurus were the tallest, with backs arched upward like a giraffe. Their tails swept downward before lifting back up near the ends. They were a molted grey-green, with small rings down the length of their tails. Their heads were a burnt orange, and a row of spines rose from their back. The longest grew from the first few feet behind their head, on their shoulders, and along their tails.

Diplodocus was just as massive, but not as tall. Their tails were long and whip like, their heads shaped like a horse, and a long row of six inch spins stretching from the back of their head down to the tip of their tail.

Their hide was swampy green, with burnt orange bellies and lime green markings running along their backs.

The malawisaurus were the smallest of the herd, reaching 52 feet in length. They were a mostly earthy brown color, but their heads were a mix of red with a tinge of blue on the end of their snout. Thier big doe eyes gave them the impression of being babies, even though they were fully grown.

The splicing of genes had come a long way since the original park. Now the dinosaurs were more like their ancient ancestors than ever before. Owen didn't know how the process had become more accurate, and he didn't really care to find out. He never really understood genetics.

The eldest brach, Scarlet, wandered closer to the slow moving jeep. She lowered her massive head and gently brushed her snout against the side of the vehicle.

Owen stared into her big, soft eyes. They were warm brown with wide square pupils, shaped like a horse.

"Hey there pretty girl." Tracy cooed.

Scarlet gave a soft rumble before lifting her great head and wandered off.

The jeep sped up as they left the sauropod herd to graze the trees. Ahead was a grassy ridge. When the jeep finally breached the hill, the sight before them was breathtaking. The rising sun cast the landscape in warm yellows and golds, shimmering off the multi-colored hides of the dozens of dinosaurs grazing below them.

Yellow feathered gallimimus raced between crimson patterned triceratops, black quills rising from their hips.

Angular stegosaurus ate from low growing bushes while brightly colored parasaurolophus trumpeted to one another.

Dapple hided ankylosaurus rubbed against trees, birds perching on their backs to pick at blood sucking insects between the bony plates.

It was like the african savanna, set in prehistoric times.

"Wow."

* * *

 **A.N.** _I just couldn't pass up including Vern in this. Hehe. About the raptors having feathers and everything, if you look at domesticated animals released into the wild, they'll often times begin to develop characteristics of their wild relatives. This can happen to the actual animal, or its descendents. One great example is domestic pigs. If a domestic pig (you know, the big pink hairless ones) escapes and survives in the wild, after several years the pig will begin to grow course hair, it's skull will shift to make a more shovel like shape than rounded seen in domestic pigs, and they'll grow tusks. I've simply applied this to dinosaurs, to make them appear and act more like how we currently believe them to look._

 _If you guys have any questions or arguments about this, feel free to PM me. But remember this is an AU and I'm exercising creative lisence with this. ;)_


	4. New Perspectives

Chapter Three: New Perspectives

Doctor Henry Wu loved his job. It was a dream come true for him. Not only being able to stretch his scientific wings, but also create such magnificent creatures. As a child, he'd been obsessed with dinosaurs. Every year until he turned twelve it had been a dinosaur theme birthday party. He'd gone on fossil digs, visited every museum he could, and spent hours researching if it'd be possible to make a real life dinosaur.

And now, he could.

No one knew that Henry truly loved the dinosaurs. They were living, breathing, feeling creatures. Yes, they were a product of science, but they didn't know that. They didn't bother to know that.

Henry created these creatures, and loved them as a parent. He imagined if there was a god, he'd feel the same as Henry about his creation.

But Henry buried those feelings around others. It was far easier for him to pretend like they didn't matter. While growing, the dinosaurs were his responsibility. He was their caretaker, and he could decide what happened to them. But as soon as they hatched, he no longer had any say in their life.

If they had to be put down, Henry could do nothing. If they were taken from the island, Henry had no voice.

That was frustrating beyond belief.

But on cool nights he'd wander the park, visiting each of his creations. He knew them all by name. And they knew him. They'd come eagerly to their fences, sniffing at him as he fed them little treats. Of course he wouldn't dare do such a thing with the carnivores, but he loved them all the same.

Henry hated to pick favorites, but he couldn't help it. Rexy was his special girl. His first true success. She was everything he'd ever hoped for. Plus, the t rex had always been his favorite of the dinosaurs.

Rexy was the queen of the park, and Henry was beyond proud of her. He loved her sister two. Little princess Sue was a fantastic creature in her own right, but the elder rex always held a special place with Henry.

As Henry sat at his desk, reading through reports, his musings trailed away from the tyrant lizards and to his 'secret' work. InGen gave him so much more freedom than Masrani did.

He had his own private labs on Sorna, and unlimited access to whatever he wanted to do. While he despised InGen's plan for warfare dinosaurs, he relished in the freedom they gave him.

Genetic hybrids!

He'd already created hybrids among living species, and was starting to tamper into dinosaurs.

Is first true extinct hybrid was compy sized, with the skin of an octopus, allowing it to change color and texture at will. She was extraordinarily intelligent and incredibly social.

The little creature had developed a habit of sneaking into Henry's room and curling up in bed with him. Henry, the sucker for dinosaurs he was, couldn't say no.

His employers knew he lived off island, they didn't know his home was on a secure base on Isla Sorna. Every night he returned to that incredible island and his creations who ran free like they should.

Henry sighed. Jurassic World jut made him feel so confined.

Shaking away those thoughts, he opened up a new report. The park's first clutch of raptor eggs were scheduled to hatch in less that a week.

The man hired to care for them was truly intriguing. Owen Grady had experience tenfold. Raised among animal trainers, he worked first with horses for famous acts such as Cavalier, then with big cats for circuses and magic acts.

Both his parents had been part of a circus, a lion tamer and a monkey handler, before settling down to raise Owen and his two sisters.

After high school (age 18) Grady joined the army as to get a collage education as well as train animals for the navy. He worked with dolphins, becoming one of the leading experts with the species.

Between his work with the grey skinned creatures, he also found a passion studding orcas and great white sharks.

He'd lived a few years in an Alaska ocean town, living amongst the native american people who held knowledge of orcas like no one else.

Turns out wild orcas were much less aggressive and so much more willing to work with humans than captive ones. The creatures loved interaction and an excuse to show off their intelligence. They seemed to view Owen Grady as a play mate, teaching them all sorts of fun games to try. While he never got in the water with them, the large dolphins would some flocking to his boat, sticking their heads out of the water and begging for bits of fish.

He'd boycotted SeaWorld ever since.

After ten or so years with the navy, Grady retired. Not a year later he received a letter asking him if he wanted to join the Jurassic World team.

Based on years of watching the wild raptors on Sorna, Henry realized their behavior, hunting patterns, and social structure was incredibly similar to that of an orca pod. Aside from choosing only one mate, the two species were remarkable similar.

It made Grady the number one choice in the world.

Henry was truly impressed with the man, and his genuine concern for the animals' wellbeing sealed the deal for him.

A soft beep pulled Henry from his thoughts. It was a message alert. He sighed when he saw who it was from. Vic Hoskins. The man was the bane of Henry's existence. He was the one who pressed for dinosaur soldiers more than anyone else. Especially raptors. The man just couldn't get it through his stick skull that that would be an absolutely _horrible_ idea.

They didn't even know if Grady would be able to keep the raptors in line, much less get them to follow orders.

Then there was Masrani's custom order for a new dinosaur. Something 'bigger', 'scarier', 'cooler'.

Henry sighed again. Well, he had a plan that would kill two birds with one stone. Create Masrani's dinosaur that could also be a prototype for Vic. The real question was what to put in it.

Henry's eyes flashed with a sudden, insane idea.

He knew exactly what he wanted in this creature. He didn't care if he'd be damned if anyone found out, this creature would be his crowned jewel.

And it'd be more of his child than any other.

Owen leaned back in his chair with his cell phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. In his hands he held a notebook and pencil.

The phone rang for the third time before finally picking up.

 _"Hello?"_ Asked a husky voice.

"Jess! How you doin'?"

 _"Owen?! You son'ofa'bitch! I thought you were dead or somethin'. You never call!"_

Owen laughed into the phone. "Yeah, sorry bout that. I've been busy as hell."

 _"You too huh?"_

"Yeah. How's your little family?"

 _"Oh, their great. Givin' me hell, of course, but I love em all to death. Lu's pregnant now. I'm so excited."_

"Congrat's man!"

 _"Yup. Okay, I know this isn't a social call. It never is with you. What's it you want?"  
_ "Just some advice."

 _"Oh jesus, don't tell me..."_ Jess groaned over the phone. _"What'd you do this time?"_

Owen laughed. "Nothing! I just got a new job, that's all."

 _"It's never just 'that's all' with you Owen. What's the catch?"_

"Well... I got hired by Jurassic Word..."

 _"The dinosaur place? The hell Owen?!"_

"... as an animal handler..."

 _"Oh Jesus."_

"... for the raptors..."

Silence.

 _"Well, nice knowin' ya."_

"Com'mon Jess, don't be like that."

The other man sighed deeply. _"Okay. Fine, fine. Can't have my navy bud get eaten by dinosaurs, now can I?"_

"Jess, you've been doing pretty much the same thing for years now."

 _"Hey, wolves are_ very _different that raptors, ya hear? Don't you remember twenty years ago when they literally tore people apart?"_

"Mine are gonna be different Jess. Trust me."  
 _"Oh yeah, how do you know that?"_

"Testosterone."

 _"Huh?"_

"Turns out the first raptors had more testosterone in their blood than bull sharks. You know how aggressive those can be."

 _"Of course I know. Lost a toe to one."_ Jess grumbled.

Owen laughed. He remembered that surfing trip gone wrong. Jess was the toughest man he knew, hardly even blinked when his foot got chewed on by a ten foot shark. He'd just punched it in the nose and swam to shore, bleeding like water out of a hose as he went.

"The geneticist here learned from that mistake. They've reduced the raptors' testosterone levels by more than half."

Jess sighed. _"I don't know man. I've gotten plenty of stitches from my pack, and these guys aren't near as deadly as those dinosaurs. I've even got bit by Lu once or twice. At least wolves aren't know to outright hunt people."_

"I'm gonna be raising my girls Jess. I'll be alpha from the get go."

 _"Really now? What about when they're older and decide to challenge you? What will you do?"_

"That's why I'm calling you. You've been alpha of a grey wolf pack for over ten years."

 _"Okay, okay. You have something to take notes on?"_

Owen tapped his pencil against the pages. "Yup."

 _"Okay, first thing..."_

 **A.N.** _(Baby raptors next chapter, and a little explanation on why Grant's little line is in my summary. I'll probably spend around three or so chapters on Owen and the girls before time jumping to when the Indomini(?) come in._


End file.
